"Ox-Horse Factory?"
That place seems to be around the Second Ring Town.
Xin An touched her chin, her brows furrowing slightly.
"But how do we get into the Second Ring Town?"
Shadow spread his hands, looking somewhat troubled. "I heard from the old townspeople that it's a wealthy and aristocratic area, with a strict hierarchy."
"Without a pass or special status, people in Third Ring Town cannot easily enter."
"If you force your way in, the ghost messengers will take you away."
Guo Shuai chuckled and gave a thumbs-up, "Isn't that simple? Go find my boss first!"
"He must have already won first place in the qualifying rounds!"
"That's right, that's right!"
Circle echoed, her little face filled with pride.
"The prison is arresting people too harshly!"
"They've crammed the prison cells to bursting, even taking away my government job."
"Absolutely number one by a wide margin!"
Shadow and Xin An exchanged a glance; they had absolute faith in Jiangnan's abilities.
Because not everyone can dominate the top Sky Curtain Novice Ranking.
The three of them rushed back to the competition venue with Circle, but the stage was already empty.
They looked up at the performance Rankings in mid-air, and the string of scarlet numbers instantly froze them in place.
[Rank 1: Jiangnan (Constable) Performance: 50,000 taels]
[2nd Place: Qin Jiudao (Constable) Earnings: 270 taels]
[3rd Place: Aeria Alice (Court Girl) Sales: 190 taels]
"Holy crap..."
Guo Shuai rubbed his eyes, his voice trembling.
"Fifty thousand taels?! Boss, did you confiscate the town mayor's property?"
"The second-place winner isn't even a fraction of his level!"
Shocked, Guo Shuai quickly grabbed a town resident who was leaving the scene and asked him a question.
"Hey bro, do you know where Jiangnan, who's number one on the Rankings, went?"
The townsman replied with a look of reverence, "Which gentleman are you referring to?"
"I just saw through the Heaven-Peering Mirror that after he ordered the three thousand Confucian scholars of the Confucian Dao Association to arrest the criminals and collect the reward money..."
"Just ride that..."
"Heh, he rode off on that beautiful mount."
"As for where he went, who would dare follow him?"
"I see..."
Guo Shuai scratched his head and looked at the Shadow with a helpless expression.
"That's troublesome. My boss is always elusive, and Soul Return Town is so big, finding him is like looking for a needle in a haystack."
Their actions came to a standstill once again.
Just when everyone was feeling dejected...
They even discussed whether they should deliberately do something to get caught by the ghost messengers and see what happens.
A figure drenched in sweat came rushing from afar.
"Phew... Phew... I finally found you!"
The person who arrived was Zhao Yan.
He didn't even bother wiping his sweat, and asked anxiously, "Have you found any trace of Chief Yue Tian?"
"Found them. They're most likely being held captive in the Ox-Horse Factory on the Second Ring Town."
Shadow's expression was grave. "But the problem is... we can't get into the Second Ring Town."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yan unexpectedly burst into laughter.
"If that's the reason, then you don't need to worry! I have a solution."
As he spoke, Zhao Yan pulled out a performance record stamped with a large vermilion seal from his pocket, on which was written:
[Performance: 80 taels, ranked 12th.]
[Note: Please arrive at the Ox-Horse Factory at noon tomorrow to participate in the second stage.]
"Grandpa Zhao, it has to be you!"
Guo Shuai exclaimed in surprise, "You're still going strong for your age! You actually made it in just barely above the passing mark?!"
"The manual labor is tiring, but my body can handle it."
Zhao Yan smiled, then pulled out another receipt, on which was clearly written...
[Complimentary stay voucher for Presidential Suite at Shen Family Five-Star Hotel].
"This is a special reward issued by the organizers to incentivize the top twelve finishers."
Zhao Yan waved the receipt in his hand.
"This voucher allows you to bring up to ten attendants into the Second Ring Town and enjoy the highest level of hospitality at the hotel."
"Perfect timing, let's go in together!"
"Captain, it's always you! This maneuver was a sure thing!" Xin An couldn't help but laugh.
"Alright, alright, stop flattering me."
Zhao Yan waved his hand and said, "Go and find Han Fei and the other two. We'll set off once everyone is here."
"And Xiao Guo, if nothing unexpected happens, your boss Jiangnan should have already entered the Second Ring Road ahead of schedule."
We'll definitely run into them once we go in.
"Thank you, Grandpa Zhao! I'll go right away!" Guo Shuai replied excitedly.
Just as everyone was preparing to act, Shadow suddenly frowned and asked in confusion.
"By the way, speaking of which... what about Liu Ruyan?"
"Why haven't I seen her since just now?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yan and Xin An suddenly realized the problem.
"Broken!"
Zhao Yan's face darkened. "Yesterday she was learning how to be a thief from that fake Tang Sirui."
"Could something have happened?!"
After being explained to by several people, Xin An also learned the true nature of Tang Sirui and said with concern.
"Although Liu Ruyan has a bad temper, her combat strength is considerable."
"Should I use the Complete Map Analysis to find her location?"
"I think it's okay..."
Just as the three were getting extremely anxious and were preparing to use special methods to find the person...
Circle had been silent until now, suddenly burst into laughter.
It stretched out its little hand, pointed at a scholar who was writing calligraphy on the street, and exclaimed excitedly.
"Daddy! Daddy, look! That scholar is drawing a big prison!"
"Paint Jiangnan?"
Everyone turned their heads.
"Hehe, not only do we have Lao Da, but we also have Lao Da's mount!"
Circle clapped her little hands and asked innocently, "Daddy, are we going to have a new sister-in-law?"
After he finished speaking, Zhao Yan and the other two exchanged glances.
That inexplicable gossip instinct instantly propelled them to hurry over.
When they crowded around the drawing board and looked closely at the content on the paper...
Holy crap!!!
Apart from Guo Shuai, who managed to remain calm, the eyes of Zhao Yan and the other two almost popped out of their sockets.
In the painting, a man dressed in a flying fish robe is riding on the shoulders of a stunningly beautiful woman.
The woman's face was as beautiful as a peach blossom, her eyes filled with shame and indignation...
Indulge.
Although the woman in the painting is deliberately depicted as somewhat blurred.
But that tattered sword robe, and that sword...
But everyone recognized him at a glance!
"This... isn't this Liu Ruyan?!"
"How could she become a mount that needs no further explanation!"
The Shadow screamed.
"Oh dear... I can't bear to look! This old man really can't bear to look!"
Zhao Yan, a veteran who had served his entire life in the military, blushed as he looked at the drawing on the paper.
He covered his face, sighing repeatedly through his fingers.
"This is indecent! This is absolutely indecent!"
Xin An, standing to the side, also had a twitching at the corner of her mouth.
"This is definitely a case of being possessed, isn't it?"
"The Liu Ruyan I know, even if you threw her off a building, she would never show this kind of..."
"That humiliated and shy expression, like a young girl in the throes of first love!"
Only Guo Shuai.
He was not shocked by the size of the new sister-in-law in the painting.
Instead, he carefully touched his chin and leaned closer to the easel.
Then, Guo Shuai's face darkened, and he slammed his hand on the painting stall.
He pointed at the self-absorbed scholar and angrily rebuked him.
"What kind of garbage is this?! You've made my boss look ugly!"
"Those features! That aura!"
"It doesn't even capture one ten-thousandth of my boss's handsomeness! Not handsome enough! Redraw it!"
The Confucian scholar, who had been smugly pleased with himself, was shocked to hear that his artistic abilities had been so insulted.
His temper flared up instantly!
Writers often look down on each other, let alone being verbally abused to their faces.
"You brute, what do you know about art?!"
The scholar clutched his painting, furious, stomping his feet and spitting as he spoke.
"This is what I call freehand brushwork! This is what I call capturing both form and spirit!"
"Look at this official's eyes—three parts indifference, three parts mockery, and four parts nonchalance!"
"I portrayed it so vividly!"
"You have absolutely no artistic talent, so what gives you the right to question my painting skills!"
"Bullshit!"
Guo Shuai immediately rolled up his sleeves and spat back, "Does my boss have those dead fish eyes?!"
"That's the kind of look you give someone who looks at trash, don't you understand?!"
"And that jawline, you drew it like a pumpkin!"
"Are you Envy my boss's unparalleled good looks and deliberately trying to smear him here?!"
"How dare you! You have insulted the noble character of Confucian scholars!"
"So what if I insulted you! Your drawing skills are only good enough to draw blackboard bulletins at the village entrance!"
The two started exchanging barbs on the street, engaging in a high-intensity verbal battle.
It looked like Guo Shuai was about to throw his boat around and engage in a physical duel with the other person.
Seeing that things were not going well, Zhao Yan and Circle rushed forward to grab Guo Shuai's arms from either side.
"Alright, alright, Xiao Guo! Stop arguing!"
Zhao Yan grabbed him tightly and dragged him backward.
Xin An also offered earnest advice from the side.
"Xiao Guo, calm down!"
"We still have important business to do, let's not waste time in a place like this!"
"Let me go! This bastard has ruined my boss's glorious image, I'll teach him a lesson today!"
Guo Shuai was forcibly carried forward by several people, kicking his feet wildly on the ground, and still managed to turn around and unleash a barrage of attacks on the scholar.
"You just wait! I'll shove your paintbrush up your nostril one of these days!"
The scholar, not to be outdone, stood still, waving the scroll and cursing loudly.
"You rude scoundrel! Don't you dare run away!"
"I'll go and call some people right now, and I'll use the Swing Analects to physically send you to the afterlife tomorrow morning!"
And at this very moment.
Inside the [Eye of Calamity].
Albert was sitting on the throne of bones.
He looked at Guo Shuai's appearance outside through the vision of the Eye of Calamity.
Instead of feeling ashamed, he burst into laughter.
Hahahaha...
Albert's laughter echoed throughout the space.
"Compassionate and righteous, acting on impulse."
"As expected of the successor personally chosen by this god."
"Your purity shines far brighter than those hypocritical gods."
But as he laughed, Albert's voice gradually lowered.
"Only..."
"I wonder if your tender shoulders can withstand the storm that's about to break..."
"After all..."
"Even your boss might not be able to withstand it."
Albert turned his gaze to the outside world.
Behind Guo Shuai and the others.
There, a familiar presence had already set its sights on them.
Or to be more precise...
They've set their sights on the [Eye of Calamity]!
At this moment, the sky outside was bathed in the light of Dusk.
In a pavilion not far from Guo Shuai and the others.
A figure stands quietly in the afterglow of the setting sun.
He is Sage who crawled out of the sea of filth and maggots and cleansed himself!
A gentle breeze blew by, lifting the gray cloth covering his eyes.
Those deep, empty eyes were now peering down at Guo Shuai on the street below.
Or rather...
He was peering into the [Eye of Calamity].
"Hehe..."
The Sage's lips curled into a smile.
He had recently suffered a major setback and humiliation because of the Dragon God.
But to his surprise, fate rewarded him so quickly.
"Originally, I just wanted to find an opportunity to eliminate the Dragon God, but I didn't expect..."
"I've unexpectedly run into the presence of an old friend here..."
"This is truly an unexpected bonus..."